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Date added: 22.02.2019

Over the past few years, the Mediterranean investment direction remains the most attractive. For many investors and business doers, this region has become a Paradise for conducting their business. A number of such regions as Cyprus, Monaco or Andorra, despite certain legal and financial conditions, are considered to be fairly respectable offshore jurisdictions. In this list, it is worth noting Malta, because the interest in the Maltese passport and the constant interest has increased so much that the question of how much it costs to obtain citizenship of Malta has long been very popular.

At the moment, there are three most common options for obtaining a passport of an island country. All options are well proven not only as a successful business investment, but also the solution of a number of formal questions about living, moving around the world and the availability of real estate. So, let's look at all the options and find out what benefits each option provides.

Investment in the economy of Malta

This is a good old classic way that always works for such countries. What is important to know for an investor, who wants to get a Maltese passport, bypassing the complicated naturalization procedure, is the amount of investment. According to the laws of Malta, this is a direct investment in the country's economy. The amount is 650 thousand Euros (excluding fees). Anyone makes a deposit to the account of the National and Social Development Fund of Malta (NSDF) as a non-refundable investment. After that, it opens a simplified way of obtaining citizenship, the period of which is reduced from 10 years for a period of 6 to 24 months.

It is important to note one feature of the Maltese legislation. After depositing money into the account of the NSDF, the investor needs to invest in real estate. So you should take care of the availability of another 350 thousand Euros for the purchase of residential space (or the option of renting housing at a price of 16 thousand Euros yearly for at least a 5year period). In other words, you can only buy real estate housing and it cannot be leased. Only the investor and his family members have the right to live in the purchased house. This means that property on the island is not profitable, in contrast to the second way of obtaining a Maltese passport.

Investments in real estate and entrepreneurship of Malta

The second solution is a business option that makes a profit by making direct investments in Malta. The purchase of national bonds in the amount of 150 thousand Euros through the Malta Individual Investors Program (MIIP) allows you to simplify obtaining the desired citizenship.

The MIIP program was developed precisely in cases where the investor or entrepreneur wishes not to lose money, but to receive a fixed profit, which is from 3% per annum. Also, the investor receives a refund of up to a volume of 500 thousand Euros, depending on the type of investment and the number of members of the applicant's family.

Also, the investor should remember that the Maltese legislation is actively continuing to improve. Now, according to the Republic of Malta Citizenship Act, the purchase of real estate, a ready-made business, and depositing funds into the account of the NSDF activates a special procedure by which the applicant can obtain the passport from 90 to 180 days.

Dates of receipt and documents for registration of Maltese citizenship

Who is eligible to apply for a Malta passport?

According to the Citizenship Act of the Republic of Malta within the framework of the investment program, a citizen of a country can become:

  • A resident aged from 18 to 55 years,
  • Members of his (her) family under the age of 18, as well as children under the age of 26 (if they are in the care of the applicant);
  • Parents of the applicant and his (her) spouse (spouse) aged 55 years and older;
  • Grandparents and grandmothers of both the applicant and his spouse, regardless of age and state of health.

These norms and provisions of the legislation of Malta for obtaining citizenship under the program of an individual investor apply to the grandchildren and the applicant's great-grandchildren, regardless of the place of birth and the fact of having the first citizenship.

What are the financial conditions for obtaining Malta citizenship?

The MIIP program has the terms of naturalization and has a clear list of financial obligations for the resident and his family member..

Please pay attention to the exact amount of payment. Partial or inaccurate payment of funds to these accounts is not returned and this may be the reason for refusing to obtain the citizenship of the country.

Cost of citizenship

Based on the above options, for the resident the total cost of obtaining citizenship (including commissions, taxes and investments) will be equal to:

For residents (excluding family and relatives):

  • For the property owner - 1 158 200 Euros;
  • For a tenant of real estate - 888,200 Euros.

When family consists of three or four people:

  • For the property owner - 1 269 700 Euros;
  • For the tenant of real estate - 999 700 Euros.

When family consists of five or more people (including relatives):

  • For the property owner - 1 380 700 Euros;
  • For the tenant of real estate - 1 110 700 Euros.

How is the citizenship of Malta issued?

Registration of citizenship of Malta is made in a strict and regulated manner. It looks like this:

  1. The period of consideration of applications for a residence permit from 30 to 90 days.
  2. After the end of inspections, the control authorities of Malta issue a certificate of residence (up to 12 months). Prerequisite is the delivery of biometrics.
  3. It is necessary to live on the island for at least 183 days, become a financial resident of the country, and pay taxes in full amount.
  4. Apply for citizenship after a specified period with a full package of documents (see that list hereinafter).
  5. Term of obtaining citizenship is from 6 to 24 months

NB! Malta authorities have the right to refuse to obtain citizenship of the island if:

  1. False or incorrect information has been submitted by the applicant;
  2. The applicant violated the rules of a residence permit, did not pay unrecoverable investments and taxes in full amount, did not have a full package of documents
  3. Criminal record or open criminal case against the applicant
  4. Received a refusal of a Malta visa in the status of a citizen of another country.

What documents are required for citizenship?

The control authorities of the island of Malta require an accurate list of documents. To become a legal citizen of Malta, a resident must submit documents to the government of the country.

 The required package of documents includes:

  1. Passport (citizen of the country in which he (she) lives);
  2. Not expired foreign passport;
  3. Birth certificate (for minor children);
  4. Certificate of criminal record in the territory of his state (for each adult family member);
  5. A certificate from the police of Malta that the resident has no problems with the law;
  6. Marriage certificate (original or duplicate of the original);
  7. 4 passport size photos;
  8. Medical certificate confirming the healthy state of the future citizen of Malta (it must be issued by the Maltese institution);
  9. A document confirming the legality of the residence of a foreign citizen on the island state;
  10. Confirmation that the resident has housing (rented or purchased);
  11. Certificate from the tax service, confirming that the resident is not in arrears at home;
  12. Bank statement from the resident's account, confirming that the applicant has the required amount in the bank;
  13. Completed application form indicating the reasons for obtaining Malta citizenship.

IMPORTANT! The submitted documents must be completed in Maltese or English. If the future resident does not speak the languages, all documentation must be translated into one of the official languages ​​of Malta and be notarized.

What does the citizenship of Malta give?

The MIIP program involves a fairly strict and detailed verification of the applicant and all dependent persons who receive citizenship with the main applicant. On this basis, the Government of Malta will carefully check all the submitted and required documents from the applicant - certificates, availability of NSDF open account , availability of a country's bank account, a contract for the purchase of real estate, personal data, criminal record, marriage certificate, birth certificate of children etc.

To obtain a residence permit of the country, you must go through a simplified procedure with the presence of the entire package of the document and payment. After receiving a residence permit, four months later, the applicant receives the right to apply for citizenship. After 12 months from the beginning of the naturalization procedure, the investor will receive a certificate of naturalization from the island government, which will be valid at the time of receiving the country's passport, reading the text of the oath and imposing the citizenship of Malta.

The Maltese passport, as indicated in the world index of passports, is among the top five world leaders. The owner has access to 170 countries of the world, free residence in any of the EU countries, access to world markets, forums, and educational, commercial, innovative and technological platforms across the world. Also, Malta passport holders are exempt from additional taxation not only on the island, but also in 142 countries with which Malta has agreements for opening new representative offices of businessmen from the island.

This allows you to avoid having double taxation procedures, paying high commissions on investing in new areas of business development. Such preferences allow you to resolve formal or technical issues in a matter of seconds, to avoid additional burden on the financial statements and payment of taxes in the resident countries, where the owner of the passport of Malta conducts business.

Conclusions

The successful experience of Malta has helped many investors not only to invest their funds in a new country, but also allows businessmen to promote their private and commercial interests. Getting a Maltese passport allows you to simplify not only the conduct of their business, but also to develop it in many parts of the globe.

Company Law & Trust International offers you to make your dream - to obtain the citizenship of Malta, to develop your own business all over the world, to get active income from investments in the economy of the country and to own luxury real estate near the sea. Our lawyers with vast experience will help you to find out all the necessary details, will hold legal, financial and partner advice to obtain the desired Maltese citizenship.